Defendant Ricky Fagans appeals from a ruling by the Windham
District Court denying defendant' s
request for a reduction in bail. Defendant is charged with one felony count of
possession of cocaine and one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana. At
the arraignment hearing, bail was set at $50,000 cash or surety bond. Defendant
subsequently moved for a reduction or elimination of bail. At a hearing on
October 2, 2002, the district court denied defendant'
s motion. Defendant appealed this denial.

This Court must affirm the trial court'
s order if it is supported by the proceedings below. 13 V.S.A.
§ 7556(b). The record reflects that
the district court considered the statutory conditions-of-release factors
pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 7554(b) in
denying the reduction in bail. Defendant is charged with possession of almost
two pounds of cocaine, a significant amount which may bring a substantial jail
sentence. He was arrested along with a codefendant while driving a van
containing the cocaine into Vermont from out of state. Defendant is not employed
and has very few assets. However, the amount of cocaine involved in the charge
was very valuable, indicating the presence of significant amounts of money to
finance drug sales. Although he has lived in Springfield, Vermont for his entire
life and his entire family, including his fiancee and children, are in
Springfield, he does not live with his family and there is no record that he
pays child support. The district court found that these factors, taken together,
created a risk that defendant would fail to appear in the future.

This case is distinguishable from State v. Duff, 151
Vt. 433, 436 (1989), in which we found that $150,000 bail was excessive where
there was no evidence on risk of flight beyond the charge. Here, the district
court found additional evidence beyond the charge, such as defendant'
s lack of employment, the significant quantity of the drugs involved, and the
fact that the offense involved defendant traveling out of the state.

I must conclude that the bail amount is supported by the
proceedings below and affirm the decision to impose it.